Out-rigger grinding fixture

ABSTRACT

An outrigger grinding fixture to support a workpiece on a manual surface grinder having a worktable and a grinding wheel. The outrigger grinding fixture comprises a base member maintained on the worktable. A slide member has a V-shaped slot formed on an upper edge. A mechanism is for horizontally adjusting the slide member on the base member. Another mechanism is for preventing vibration of the workpiece when the grinding wheel engages with the workpiece.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 613/63,298, filed on Jul. 12, 2010, In the United States Patent &Trademark Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a manual surface grinder attachment,and more particularly, an outrigger grinding fixture.

The outrigger grinding fixture is designed to provide support for aworkpiece being a small part while machining. This ensures that theworkpiece does not vibrate and break off. By supporting the end of theworkpiece, it can be altered in size and shape without chatter ordamage. The present invention can be used to support the workpiece in amanual surface grinder in any machine shop.

2. Description of the Prior Art

When grinding a workpiece being a small part, there is a possibilitythat excessive heat will cause the workpiece to flex and become warped.When the workpiece is not held securely, it can begin to vibrate, orchatter, and even break apart. This results in a loss of materials andvaluable time. A more efficient method is needed.

Numerous innovations for workpiece supports have been provided in theprior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may besuitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address,however, they differ from the present invention.

A FIRST EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,599, Issued on Mar. 27, 1984, toKamman et al. teaches a work contact shoe that floats in an elastomericmount within a shoe holder, and the shoe holder is mounted by bracketmeans to a machine base. A preload mechanism is employed for forcing thework contact shoe into a slight preload against a workpiece so that asthe workpiece is machined and vibrations are generated, the vibrationswill be attenuated by shearing of the elastomer.

A SECOND EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,269, Issued on Feb. 27, 1996, toMcCalmont teaches a workpiece that is clamped to a machine table whilebeing machined, but a cantilevered portion of the workpiece is subjectto vibrations. The cap of a vibration damping unit is supported on themachine base and spring-loaded upwardly against the workpiece. A supportspring acting on a seat forces a damping element against the cap which,in turn, is impressed against the cantilevered workpiece. Vibrations aresuppressed by horizontal shearing motion of the ring damping element.The entire damping assembly comprising the cap, ring damping element,seat and spring are retracted from the workpiece by means of a centralrod connected to a manually actuated toggle clamp.

A THIRD EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,768, Issued on Nov. 16, 1999, toTolley teaches a fixture for retaining mold pin workpieces for separatecut-off and precision grinding operations, facilitating the efficientmachining of quantities of mold pins to close tolerances, when employedin combination with a machine such as a manual surface grinder, or othermachining tool. The grinding fixture includes a base pate, with avertically upstanding cylindrical post secured to the base plate. A headassembly is slidably mounted on the post for both vertical positionadjustment and rotational (angular) adjustment. A vertically-extendinggraticule line on the post and a graduated degree scale on the headassembly cooperate to facilitate rotational adjustment of the headassembly to particular angles. In addition, the base plate has primaryside and secondary positioning reference edges oriented at preciseangles. The head assembly has a pin-clamping portion extendinghorizontally from the post to a distal end generally along aheadassembly axis perpendicular to the post. A first stationary jaw islocated on a side of the pin-clamping portion adjacent to the distal endand has a horizontally-oriented V-groove facing away from the headassembly axis for orienting a workpiece pin parallel to the headassembly axis during a cut-off operation. A second stationary jaw islocated at the distal end and has a vertically-oriented V-groove facingaway from the post for orienting a workpiece pin perpendicular to thehead assembly axis during a precision grinding operation.

A FOURTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Publication No. 2006/0105688,published on May 18, 2006, to Okanda teaches a workpiece support devicefor use in machining a workpiece including: a securing support unit; anda following support unit. The securing support unit has a securingabutment member releasably positioned and secured at a desired position,and the securing abutment member abuts against the workpiece at aportion near a portion to be machined to prevent the portion to bemachined from moving against the secured securing abutment member. Thefollowing support unit has a following abutment member, and thefollowing abutment member abuts against the workpiece at a portion nearthe portion to be machined on the same side as the securing abutmentmember, is movable following a movement of the workpiece, and applies apressure to the workpiece during the movement.

A FIFTH EXAMPLE, U. S . Pat. No. 7,462,093, issued on Dec. 9, 2008, toOkanda teaches a workpiece support device for use in machining aworkpiece including: a securing support unit; and a following supportunit. The securing support unit has a securing abutment memberreleasably positioned and secured at a desired position, and thesecuring abutment member abuts against the workpiece at a portion near aportion to be machined to prevent the portion to be machined from movingagainst the secured securing abutment member. The following support unithas a following abutment member, and the following abutment member abutsagainst the workpiece at a portion near the portion to be machined onthe same side as the securing abutment member, is movable following amovement of the workpiece, and applies a pressure to the workpieceduring the movement.

A SIXTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Publication No. 2009/0016835,published on Jan. 15, 2009, to Wang et al. teaches a mechanism forsuppressing grinding-cutting vibration comprises a C-shaped base, afixed support seat, a clamp device and a vibration absorber. Based onvibration absorbing principle of the vibration theory, the clamp deviceis connected to the movable cutting machine, so as to move along withthe cutting machine during the machining operation, and the clamp forceapplied to clamp the workpiece is adjustable. By such arrangements, thevibration energy produced at the time of cutting the workpiece can betransferred to the vibration absorber through the clamp device, and thena part of the vibration energy will be absorbed by the vibrationabsorber, thus achieving the objective of reducing vibration of the cutposition.

A SEVENTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Publication No. 2011/0034114,published on Feb. 10, 2011, to Eggar teaches a support collar plate forvibration-free holding of workpiece, i.e., pilgrim mandrel, clamped atboth ends and to be processed between its ends by means of a grindingwheel, comprised of a base, arranged fixed in place in respect to theworkpiece, and a clamp, which extends around the workpiece on at leasttwo oppositely located sides. The workpiece can be clamped by a clampingforce, wherein the clamp extends around the workpiece so that it ispossible to perform processing in the area of the clamp on the sidefacing the grinding wheel, and wherein the clamp is floatingly seated inat least one direction perpendicularly in respect to a longitudinal axisof the workpiece, so that the clamp is self-centering in respect to theworkpiece. By means of the floatingly seated clamp, the workpiece ismaintained independent of exterior forces which change the spatialposition of the workpiece.

It is apparent now that numerous innovations for workpiece supports havebeen provided in the prior art that are adequate for various purposes.Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for thespecific individual purposes to which they address, accordingly, theywould not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention asheretofore described.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

AN OBJECT of the present invention is to provide an outrigger grindingfixture that avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.

ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide an outriggergrinding fixture that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

STILL ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide an outriggergrinding fixture that is simple to use.

BRIEFLY STATED, STILL YET ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is toprovide an outrigger grinding fixture to support a workpiece on a manualsurface grinder having a worktable and a grinding wheel. The outriggergrinding fixture comprises a base member maintained on the worktable. Aslide member has a V-shaped slot formed on an upper edge. A mechanism isfor horizontally adjusting the slide member on the base member. Anothermechanism is for preventing vibration of the workpiece when the grindingwheel engages with the workpiece.

The novel features which are considered characteristic of the presentinvention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself,however, both as to its construction and its method of operation,together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be bestunderstood from the following description of the specific embodimentswhen read and understood in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The figures of the drawings are briefly described as follows:

FIG. 1 is a partial exploded perspective view of the present inventionshowing the various components thereof;

FIG. 2 is a further exploded perspective view of the present invention,showing the various components in greater detail; and

FIG. 3 is a further exploded perspective view of the present invention,showing the slide member snaps vertically into a base.

REFERENCE NUMERALS UTILIZED IN THE DRAWING

-   110 outrigger grinding fixture-   112 workpiece-   114 manual surface grinder-   116 worktable of manual surface grinder 114-   118 base member of outrigger grinding fixture 110-   120 slide member of outrigger grinding fixture 110-   122 V-shaped slot of slide member 120-   124 upper edge of slide member 120-   126 horizontally adjusting mechanism of outrigger grinding fixture    110-   128 vibration preventing mechanism of outrigger grinding fixture 110-   130 dovetail tenon of horizontally adjusting mechanism 126-   132 top surface of base member 118-   134 mortise in slide member 120-   136 lower edge of slide member 120-   138 setscrew of horizontally adjusting mechanism 126-   140 side of slide member 120-   142 adjustable support of vibration preventing mechanism 128-   144 side of slide member 120-   146 L-shaped clamping arm of vibration preventing mechanism 128-   148 first leg of clamping arm 146-   150 second leg of clamping arm 146-   152 first upper corner of slide member 120-   154 clamping roller of vibration preventing mechanism 128-   156 elongated clamping screw of vibration preventing mechanism 128-   158 pivot pin-   160 second upper corner of slide member 120-   162 threaded shaft of adjustable support 142-   164 hardened dowel pin of adjustable support 142-   166 adjustment nut of adjustable support 142

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention is an outriggergrinding fixture 110 to support a workpiece 112 on a manual surfacegrinder 114 having a worktable 116 and a grinding wheel (not shown). Theoutrigger grinding fixture 110 comprises a base member 118 maintained onthe worktable 116. A slide member 120 has a V-shaped slot 122 formed onan upper edge 124. A mechanism 126 is for horizontally adjusting theslide member 120 on the base member 118. Another mechanism 128 is forpreventing vibration of the workpiece 112 when the grinding wheelengages with the workpiece 112.

The worktable 116 and the base member 118 are both magnetic so that thebase member 118 can be held in position on the worktable 116. Thehorizontally adjusting mechanism 116 comprises a dovetail tenon 130formed on a top surface 132 of the base member 118. The slide member 120has a mortise 134 formed on a lower edge 136 which engages with thedovetail tenon 130 of the base member 118 to allow the slide member 120to be manually adjusted along the dovetail tenon 130. A setscrew 138extends through one side 140 of the slide member 120 and against oneside of the dovetail tenon 130 to retain the slide member 120 in placeon the base member 118.

The vibration preventing mechanism 128 comprises a pair of adjustablesupports 142. Each support 142 extends into one side 140,144 of theslide member 120 and into the V-shaped slot 122. An L-shaped clampingarm 146 has a first leg 148 and a second leg 150. The first leg 140 ispivotally mounted to a first upper corner 152 of the slide member 120. Aclamping roller 154 is pivotally mounted to the second leg 150 of theL-shaped clamping arm 146. An elongated clamping screw 156 threadedthrough a pivot pin 158 that is mounted to a second upper corner 160 ofthe slide member 120 which engages with the first leg 148 to adjust theL-shaped clamping arm 146, so that the clamping roller 154 will makeproper contact with the workpiece 112.

Each adjustable support 142 comprises a threaded shaft 162 which threadsinto one side 140, 144 of the slide member 120. A hardened dowel pin 164extends from a top end of the threaded shaft 162 to make proper contactwith the workpiece 112. An adjustment 166 nut is at the top end of thethreaded shaft 162 to maintain the threaded shaft 162 in position in theV-shaped slot 122 of the slide member 120.

In review, the outrigger grinding fixture 110 is an attachment for amanual surface grinder 114 configured to support a workpiece 112 so thatit does not vibrate. The present invention consists of a base member 118and a moveable slide member 120. It also includes adjustable supports142 with a clamping roller 154 to control the workpiece 112 duringrotation. The outrigger grinding fixture 110 may be made of steel ormostly steel. After the workpiece 112 is installed, the supports 142 areadjusted into place and the clamping arm 146 is pulled down. Theworkpiece 112 can then be altered in size and shape without vibration.The exact specifications may vary.

In FIG. 3, the slide member 120 snaps vertically to the base 118. Asetscrew 138 (not shown) extends through one side 140 of the slidemember 120 and against one side of the dovetail tenon 130 to retain theslide member 120 in place on the base member 118. An elongated clampingscrew 156 threaded through a pivot pin 158 that is mounted to a secondupper corner 160 of the slide member 120 which engages with the firstleg 148 to adjust the L-shaped clamping arm 146, so that the clampingroller 154 will make proper contact with the workpiece 112.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodiments ofa(n) outrigger grinding fixture, accordingly it is not limited to thedetails shown, since it will be understood that various omissions,modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of thedevice illustrated and its operation can be made by those skilled in theart without departing in any way from the spirit of the presentinvention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitutecharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.

1. An outrigger grinding fixture to support a workpiece on a manualsurface grinder having a worktable and a grinding wheel, the outriggergrinding fixture comprising: a) a base member maintained on theworktable; b) a slide member having a V-shaped slot formed on an upperedge; c) means for horizontally adjusting the slide member on the basemember; and d) means for preventing vibration of the workpiece when thegrinding wheel engages with the workpiece.
 2. The outrigger grindingfixture as recited in claim 1, wherein the worktable and the base memberare both magnetic so that the base member can be held in position on theworktable.
 3. The outrigger grinding fixture as recited in claim 1,wherein the horizontally adjusting means comprises: a) a dovetail tenonformed on a top surface of the base member; b) the slide member having amortise formed on a lower edge which engages with the dovetail tenon ofthe base member to allow the slide member to be manually adjusted alongthe dovetail tenon; and c) a setscrew extending through one side of theslide member and against one side of the dovetail tenon to retain theslide member in place on the base member.
 4. The outrigger grindingfixture as recited in claim 1, wherein the vibration preventing meanscomprises: a) a pair of adjustable supports, each support extending intoone side of the slide member and into the V-shaped slot; b) an L-shapedclamping arm having a first leg and a second leg, the first legpivotally mounted to a first upper corner of the slide member; c) aclamping roller pivotally mounted to the second leg of the L-shapedclamping arm; and d) an elongated clamping screw threaded through apivot pin that is mounted to a second upper corner of the slide memberwhich engages with the first leg to adjust the L-shaped clamping arm, sothat the clamping roller will make proper contact with the workpiece. 5.The outrigger grinding fixture as recited in claim 4, wherein eachadjustable support comprises: a) a threaded shaft which threads into oneside of the slide member; b) a hardened dowel pin extending from a topend of the threaded shaft to make proper contact with the workpiece; andc) an adjustment nut at the top end of the threaded shaft to maintainthe threaded shaft in position in the V-shaped slot of the slide member.